Monday, November 24, 2014

When the barkeeper does the doorman's job

For some reason I always come up with party analogies to minimalist living. Today I want to point out how being very selective concerning the kind of information you let into your awareness helps staying focused. If you fail to reject bad influences, you have to deal with them later on. This takes up much more time and energy than the rejection in the first place.

Imagine your brain to be a night club. If the doorman carefully selects the people to get in, the barkeeper does not have to worry about riot. It is much more difficult to throw someone out than to not let him in. But first and foremost it is less disturbing to the guests inside.

Yesterday I got really caught up in the debate about self-appointed pick up artist Julien Blanc. Because there is a huge shitstorm going on around this topic I will quickly outline the facts instead of referring to a link. Blanc is an instructor at RSD (real social dynamics), where he teaches men success with women. He is known for making jokes that border on sexism, but the content of his seminars is about building self-confidence and letting go of social fears (which everybody has to a certain degree). Now he is accused of advocating violence and sexual assault against women. Blanc states that he just went over the top with his bad attempt on humor. Nevertheless, as a result he has been banned from several countries.

My opinion is this. But since I am writing about avoiding distraction, please do not get involved in the related videos. I did yesterday and now I find myself thinking about it lot, although I do not want to waste my energy on a discussion that is led by mostly uninformed people.

Anyway I am glad, as I learned an important lesson: It is better to recognize unwanted issues before the make their way into the mind entirely.

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About "the minimalist living"

This blog highlights minimalist living and related philosophical, psychological and spiritual issues as well as thoughts on sustainability and environmental prospects. Living a minimalist lifestyle can initiate numerous paradigm shifts and result in an increase of health, happiness and wealth. With consciousness and mindfulness as its foundations, minimalist living can help to release stress, improve sleep quality and solve time problems.